Game chip holder



July 14, 1953 w. B. PETZOLD GAME CHIP HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 21 1951 lllllllll 4 Inventor-'1 illiam B. Peczold,

His Ac'torngg July 14, 1953 w. B. PETZOLD GAME CHIP HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 llilll ll Illlllll IIIIIIIII Filed Feb. 21 1951 Q, do

Inventor": William B. Peczold,

by -His Attorneg.

Patented July 14, 1953 GAME CHIP HOLDER William B. Petzold. Pittsfield, Mass, assignor to General Electric Com New. York pany, a corporation of Application February 21, 1951, Serial No. 212,008

1 Claim. (01. 211-49) The present invention relates to game chip holders. It is particularly concerned with a game chip holder comprising a rack and a plurality of chip containers removably supported on the rack. An object of the present invention is to provide a game chip holder comprising a number of chip containers individually supported on a supporting rack and adapted to be individually removed therefrom without disturbing any of the remaining containers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a game chip holder of pleasing and compact design.

A further object of the invention is to provide a game chip holder comprising a plurality of individual chip containers symmetrically arranged about and supported by a rack member.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description thereof when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention with one of the chip containers removed and one of the remaining containers and a portion of the rack partially broken away to show more clearly the structure of the individual parts.

Fig. 2 is a planned view of the same embodiment with a portion of one of the chip containers 4 broken away, i s Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view along line 4-4 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of one of the chip containers, and 1 Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view along lines 6-6 of Fig. 4. V

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the'drawing, the game holder comprises a rack l and a plurality of chip containers 2, 3, 4 and 5 individually and symmetrically supported on the rack.

The rack I comprises a generally rectangular base 6 including relatively flat upper and lower wall members 8 and 9 and side walls l0 and I l, which cooperate to form recesses l2 and [3 open at opposite ends of the base to receive packs of playing cards.

Centrally positioned on the base 6 and extending vertically upward therefrom is a handle portion 14 comprising three upright posts [5, l6 and I1 connected at their lower ends to the base and at the upper ends to a hand grip 18. The up right posts I5, 16 and I1 are of a length sufficient that when the chip containers are arranged on the base of the rack l, the hand grip I8 is accessibly positioned above the chip containers.

Each of the chip containers 2, 3, 4 and 5 are of identical construction and of generally rectangular cross section. The chip container 2, for example, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5 comprises vertical side or end walls 2| and 22 and a vertical rear wall 23. These walls plus front wall 24 and top wall 25 complete the exterior wall construction of the container and are so arranged that each container is substantially rectangular cross-section, both vertically and horizontally.

The chip receiving pockets 26 of which there are two in each container are formed by the arcuate inner walls 21 terminating at their upper ends in the top Wall 25. The bottom walls 28 of the chip receiving pockets are positioned in a plane slightly above the lower edges of the rear wall 23 of the container. Chips can be loaded into the chip receiving pockets through the open top thereof. Vertical slots 29 provided in the front walls of the container and communicating with the chip pockets provide means for viewing the chips in the container and for grasping those chips for the removal thereof through the open top of each chip pocket.- To facilitate this operation, there is also provided in the bottom wall of each pocket a slot 30 in line with the vertical slot 29 and coextensive therewith.

It is to be noted that all of the walls comprising the chip containers are relatively thin and of substantially the same thickness making the containers particularly adaptable to the molding. thereof from synthetic resins. A further advantage of this construction in which the inner curved walls defining the chip receiving pocket and the outer walls defining the exterior structure of the containers are spaced from one another is the economy of material and the accompanying decrease in weight which can be efiected.

In their assembled or supported position on the base 6 of rack I, each of the chip containers are adapted to rest on the upper wall 8 of the base member with the lower edge of the rear wall 23 in contact with the base. The base or rack I is of such a size relative to the chip containers that the front portion of each container overhangs the base 6 by an amount slightly less' than the depth of the slot or recess 30 provided in the bottom wall of the chip pockets 26. To lend additional support for the container when so mounted, there is provided along the edges of recess 30 depending lip portions 3| terminating 'the same plane as the lower edge of the rear wall 23 of the chip containers and hence resting Q each of the four sides of the. generally rectangular handle member. These T-shaped projections mate and interlock with correspondingly T-shaped recesses 34 the containers. at the bottom to receive one of the T-shaped projections and is formed by the vertically extending slots 35 and the inwardly extending opposed flange members 36 and 3'1 having opposed lip portions 38 and 39 within and spaced from the rear wall 23 of the container. Preferably the T-shaped projections 33 and the cooperating recesses 34 taper slightly in a vertical direction to facilitate the mounting and removal of the containers from their supporting structure.

The supporting or handle member 14 and the individual chip containers are of such relative di mensions that when the containers are mounted onthe rack, the containers 3 and 4 are on opposite sides of the support member I4 and containers 2 and 5 are supported at theends of the support 14 with the rear walls of containers 2 and 5 parallel to and overlapping the adjacent end walls'of containers 3 and 4 there is formed a game chip 'holder 7 rectangular shape. To accomplish this, the dimensions of the enumerated members are such that the length of each containers is substantially equal to twicel'its width plus the thickness of the suport or handle member l4 and the support or handle member I4 is of a length equal to the length of one container. The result is a game chip holder with particular pleasing appearance, particularly when the various containers and the rack are of different or contrasting colors. It will be obvious, of course, that the rack maybe made of any desired length to ac-,

commodate any number of pairs of containers 3 and 4 lengthwise'thereof, at the same time providing additionalposts equivalent to post l1 and the T-shaped support projection integral therewith. V 7

From the foregoing descriptiomit will be seen chip holder can be readily removed'from the rack without disturbing any of the remaining containers, this removal being facilitated by, the fact that the forward and side portions of the in substantially external in the rear wall of each of Each of these recesses is open that any one of the containers comprising the iii) containers overhang the edges of the base by a substantial amount. This overhang also permits the removal of the chips from the various chip pockets without the necessity of removing the corresponding container from the supporting rack. During the playing of the game, the removable containers serve as individual chip banks or receptacles for the various players.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A game chip holder assembly comprising a rack including a base and a vertically-extending handle portion and a plurality of generally rectangular chip containershaving fiat outer side and rear walls adaptedto be removably mounted on said rack about said handle portion, said handle portion being of substantially rectangular cross section and centrally positioned on said base and comprising a plurality of spaced vertically extending posts connected at their lower ends to said base and at their upper ends to a hand grip, means for removably mounting said chip containers on said base about the four sides of said handle portion with one container at each end of said handle member and the remaining containers evenly distributed along the remaining opposite sides of said handle portion, said means for mounting said chip containers comprising T-shaped projections integral with and extending vertically along the posts comprising said handle member and a T-shaped recess in the rear wall of each of said chip containers, each of said recesses being open at the bottom to receive a cooperating T-shaped projection, each of said containers having a length substantially equal to twice its width plus the thickness of said handle member and said containers together constituting an assembly in which said containers mounted on said handle member by means of said T-shaped projections and cor-1 responding recesses form a hollow rectangle with the side surfaces of adjacent chip containers engaging one another so as to reinforce one another against forces applied to said chip containers and relieve the forces existing between said T-shaped projections and said T-shaped recesses by which said chip containers are supported in assembled relation on said handle and.

said base.

WILLIAM B. PET'ZOLD.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

